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| Dino will need to keep BG out of the trap. |
This is a program on the rise. The end of the Tommy West era and the ill-fated Larry Porter era sunk the Tigers to a low point. They were 5-31 over three seasons. Justin Fuente came in and after a couple tough years had the Tigers 10-3 and in a bowl game. They are 2-0 this year, with wins over Missouri State and @Kansas.
How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?
25, which is a lot, but only 11 are returning starters and only 3 on defense.
Who are their statistical leaders?
QB Paxton Lynch is 3rd in the nation in completion %, 4th in pass efficiency and 4th in yards per pass attempt.
Mose Porter is 16th in receiving TDs.
What is their turnover ratio?
They are even this year.
Paxton Lynch, who is 6'7", is very, very good. This is a run-based offense, but he is 30-37 with 3 Tds and no picks. He has 432 yards on those 30 completions which 14.4 on average, which is very, very high, especially given the completion percentage. He does not run much.
What was their scoring and yards per play?
Um. Yeah. Scoring 59 a game. 7.3 yards per play. Lotsa productivity.
Can they run the ball?
They average 5.3 yards per carry. They have two backs who carry almost equally...Jarvis Cooper averages 5.9 yards per carry and Jamairu Henderson averages 5.8 yards per carry.
Did they pass the ball?
As noted above, they like to run the ball but if you crowd the box, they can get big yards and they haven't thrown picks. This is a dangerous offense.
How was their run/pass balance?
They have run the ball 70% of the time this year, which is incredibly high in today's game.
Do they convert on 3rd Down?
Get this. They are converting 61%. No, really.
Do they score in the red zone?
Yeah. You could say that. They have 14 red zone trips per game and they have scored on every trip and they have 13 TDs. Among the best I have ever seen.
Do they protect the quarterback?
2 sacks in 50 drop backs is 4% and a little above average.
Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play.
Their defensive numbers are also very good. They've only allowed 15 ppg and 3.5 yards per play. The latter number is ridiculously low.
Do they defend the run effectively?
So far, very good. They allow only 2.8 yards per attempt, which is outstanding. They have 11 TFL in two games.
Can they be passed on?
They have also defended the pass well, with only 52% completions allowed and less than 10 yards per completion.
Did they get off the field on 3rd down?
They have only allowed 29% conversion to date.
Do they defend in the red zone?
On six red zone trips they have one stop, 3 TDs and 2 FGs, which is good if not great red zone defense.
Did they pressure the QB?
With 4 sacks on 67 drop backs, they have pretty below average sack totals.
Special Teams:
Punting?
Not surprisingly, he has punted only 5 times. He's averaging 48 yards per kick while putting two of those inside the 20. He has 3 kicks +50. Only two have been returned for 13 yards and there has been one touchback, so his net is 39 which is above average. No blocks.
Punt Return?
So. if you thought BG was going to get a break from punt return terror, forget it. Robert Proctor has returned 7 for an average of 13.9 and a TD. Beware! No blocks.
Placekicking?
He was only 21 of 32 last year, though 15 out of 16 inside 40 and a long of 54. He's 2 of 2 this year with a long of 32.
Kickoff?
They have lots of practice here. They have kicked off 20 times with 16 touchbacks.
Kickoff Return?
Here they get less practice, with only 2 returns at 26.5 per.
Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.
A few things.
First, it is hard to tell what Memphis has. They beat Kansas, who also lost to South Dakota State, and Missouri State, who were picked 9th in the MVC and came back to beat DII Chadron State the next week. Their coach said that the competition was taking a step up this week and I suspect that is probably true.
Having said that, I suspect that Memphis is very good, especially on offense. I doubt if the defense is as good as their numbers appear.
It worries me a little bit that this game might be a trap for us. Coming off the big Maryland win and then with another Big 10 game coming next week, this game against a "non-P5" opponent kind of seems like trouble. Also, Memphis might be better than Maryland and Purdue.
That will be a test for Coach's ability to get the guys to focus this week. It will help being at home...where a good crowd is certainly hoped for.
I think one of the keys is going to be BG getting stops against the run without crowding the box. If BG has to commit to stopping the run, every indication is that they will go over the top for big yards.
This is also a game featuring two coaches who very well could be in P5 jobs by next season.
Every indication is for a shoot out. If somehow it isn't, then BG is likely to be the winning team. If you like scoring, you might be happy at the Doyt Saturday.
Um. Yeah. Scoring 59 a game. 7.3 yards per play. Lotsa productivity.
Can they run the ball?
They average 5.3 yards per carry. They have two backs who carry almost equally...Jarvis Cooper averages 5.9 yards per carry and Jamairu Henderson averages 5.8 yards per carry.
Did they pass the ball?
As noted above, they like to run the ball but if you crowd the box, they can get big yards and they haven't thrown picks. This is a dangerous offense.
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| Memphis Grad Kathy Bates |
They have run the ball 70% of the time this year, which is incredibly high in today's game.
Do they convert on 3rd Down?
Get this. They are converting 61%. No, really.
Do they score in the red zone?
Yeah. You could say that. They have 14 red zone trips per game and they have scored on every trip and they have 13 TDs. Among the best I have ever seen.
2 sacks in 50 drop backs is 4% and a little above average.
Defense:
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| Quack. |
Topline: Scoring and yards per play.
Their defensive numbers are also very good. They've only allowed 15 ppg and 3.5 yards per play. The latter number is ridiculously low.
Do they defend the run effectively?
So far, very good. They allow only 2.8 yards per attempt, which is outstanding. They have 11 TFL in two games.
Can they be passed on?
They have also defended the pass well, with only 52% completions allowed and less than 10 yards per completion.
Did they get off the field on 3rd down?
Do they defend in the red zone?
On six red zone trips they have one stop, 3 TDs and 2 FGs, which is good if not great red zone defense.
Did they pressure the QB?
With 4 sacks on 67 drop backs, they have pretty below average sack totals.
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| Going to Graceland.... |
Special Teams:
Punting?
Not surprisingly, he has punted only 5 times. He's averaging 48 yards per kick while putting two of those inside the 20. He has 3 kicks +50. Only two have been returned for 13 yards and there has been one touchback, so his net is 39 which is above average. No blocks.
So. if you thought BG was going to get a break from punt return terror, forget it. Robert Proctor has returned 7 for an average of 13.9 and a TD. Beware! No blocks.
Placekicking?
He was only 21 of 32 last year, though 15 out of 16 inside 40 and a long of 54. He's 2 of 2 this year with a long of 32.
Kickoff?
They have lots of practice here. They have kicked off 20 times with 16 touchbacks.
Kickoff Return?
Here they get less practice, with only 2 returns at 26.5 per.
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| That's a Bass Pro built it the form of a Pyramid. |
A few things.
First, it is hard to tell what Memphis has. They beat Kansas, who also lost to South Dakota State, and Missouri State, who were picked 9th in the MVC and came back to beat DII Chadron State the next week. Their coach said that the competition was taking a step up this week and I suspect that is probably true.
Having said that, I suspect that Memphis is very good, especially on offense. I doubt if the defense is as good as their numbers appear.
It worries me a little bit that this game might be a trap for us. Coming off the big Maryland win and then with another Big 10 game coming next week, this game against a "non-P5" opponent kind of seems like trouble. Also, Memphis might be better than Maryland and Purdue.
That will be a test for Coach's ability to get the guys to focus this week. It will help being at home...where a good crowd is certainly hoped for.
I think one of the keys is going to be BG getting stops against the run without crowding the box. If BG has to commit to stopping the run, every indication is that they will go over the top for big yards.
This is also a game featuring two coaches who very well could be in P5 jobs by next season.
Every indication is for a shoot out. If somehow it isn't, then BG is likely to be the winning team. If you like scoring, you might be happy at the Doyt Saturday.
Last year, I saw Memphis manhandle the Bearcats on both sides of the ball.
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